About pets

[Guest guest]

My Dear Spiritual Daughter,

 

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Thankyou for your letter cited below with my comments. I have noted the

contents carefully.

 

> Dear Guru Maharaj,

> Please accept my respectful obeisances!. All gloreis to Srila

> Prabhupada and to your divine Grace. HARE KRSNA!>

> Recently i was in a class and there was a discussion on the purport

> of the first verse of Srimad Bagavatam (1.1.1). There Srila Prabhupada

> says that there can be no mellows shared between human beings and any

> other species of life in this world. Some sais that Srila Prabhupada wants

> to emphasise on the fact that we shouldn't have pet animals. Is it so or

> does it also have a higher meaning. I beg you to kindly enlighten me in

> this regard. Thank you very much Guru Maharaj. HARE KRSNA!

> Your servant,

> Hemagopi Devi Dasi.

 

When we are in the mundane consciousness then we cannot fully relate with

Lord Sri Krishna. Therefore one has to become twice born and also second

initiated to fully relate with Lord Sri Krishna. Lord Sri Krishna is not

material. When a devotee is on the platform of Brahman then Lord Sri

Krishna accepts the devotee as on an equal platform and the relationship

truly can develop on the transcendental platform.

 

This is the main reason why Srila Prabhupada mentions this example. I never

heard it was to discourage having pets as such, although Srila Prabhupada

didn't like devotees to have cats or dogs within the house. Srila

Prabhupada didn't mind if the dogs where kept outside the house. In a rural

setting pets or domestic animals have a lot of useful purposes. That is in

any case a different point altogether.

 

I hope that this finds you in good health.

 

Your ever well wisher,

 

Jayapataka Swami